May 9, 2012
www.gfb.org
Vol. 30 No. 19
THREE COUNTIES ROLL OUT FEED MY SCHOOL PROGRAM The Feed My School for a Week project implemented by the Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA) launched with three pilot schools this spring. Elementary schools in Bleckley, Colquitt and Hall counties were chosen for the program last fall, and in April and May they served Georgia-grown products for a week. The Farm Bureau chapters in these counties have worked with the GDA to supply local food and educate the students about farming. “It just makes sense,” said Bleckley County Farm Bureau President Mike Lucas. “That kid really doesn’t know where that food came from. If he’s riding around and passes a field he can say, ‘I ate some of that stuff.’ It hits home with them.” In addition to featuring locally grown products on their cafeteria menus, all three schools incorporated farm topics into their lesson plans to emphasize where the food came from. Feed My School for a Week was intended to combat childhood obesity, raise agricultural awareness and create markets for Georgia farmers. During the designated week, the school lunches at the three schools were to be composed of at least 75 percent Georgia-grown products. “We wanted to come at the farm-to-school effort from a little different angle from anything we saw,” said Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black. “It’s been incredible to watch these three communities really take ownership. This kind of effort would not have been possible without the efforts of the Farm Bureau leaders in these three counties.” In Colquitt County, Norman Park Elementary School participated in Feed My School the week of April 23 - 27. Students were treated to strawberries from Ochlocknee Ridge Farm, vegetables from Southern Valley and Packer Produce and beef from a cow raised in the county and purchased in part with funds from Colquitt County Farm Bureau. Students at Wauka Mountain Multiple Intelligences Academy in Hall County were served a variety of Georgia-Grown products during the week of May 7-11. Hall County Farm Bureau also worked to provide locally grown beef to the school. “We’re trying to find out the stumbling blocks in terms of getting products to their kitchen,” said HCFB Director Sam Chapman, who is also a member of the Hall County Board of Education. “We want to do it. The more you do locally, the better off everyone is.” In Bleckley County, locally grown peaches and peanuts will be featured the week of May 1418. Bleckley County Farm Bureau worked to provide a cow that was slaughtered and ground into hamburger meat for use in dishes at Bleckley County Middle School. BCFB Director Michael Williams invited fourth-grade students to his farm for demonstrations on how corn is grown.